LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Gl FT OF 
 
 Class 
 
NAUGURATION of Ethelbert D. 
 Warfield, A. M., LL. B., as Presi- 
 ent of Miami University. 
 
 AMI UNIVERSITY. 
 
 JUNE 2Oth, 1889. 
 
UfilVE^SITY. 
 
 INAUGURATION 
 
 ETHELBERT DUDLEY WARFIELD, A.M., LLB., 
 
 PRESIDENT 
 
 MIAMI UNIVERSITY. 
 
 OXFORD, OHIO, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY. 
 1889. 
 
PRINTED AT THE 
 
 PRESS OF THE NEWS, 
 OXFORD, OHIO. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 ETHELBERT DUDLEY WARFIEIVD, Esq., was elected 
 President of Miami University at the regular annual 
 meeting of the Board of Trustees, on the 2ist day of 
 June, 1888, by a unanimous vote. His formal inaugu- 
 ration was postponed by his own desire, and took place 
 at the close of his first year of incumbency, on Thurs- 
 day, June aoth, 1889, the annual commencement day. 
 In accordance with a time honored custom, observed 
 from the inauguration of the first President of the Uni- 
 versity, the exercises took place in the open air, beneath 
 the oaks and beeches of the grove at the eastern part of 
 the campus, it being impossible to accommodate the 
 large audience in any hall of the University or the town. 
 The order of exercises was as follows : 
 
 INVOCATION, by the REV. JAMES H. BROOKES, D. D., Class of 
 1853, of St. Louis, 
 
 ADDRESS ON BEHALF OF THE ALUMNI, by Hon. CALVIN S. BRICE, 
 Class of 1863, of Lima, President of the Alumni Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 ADDRESS ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, by Hon. JOHN 
 W. HERRON, LL. D., Class of 1845, of Cincinnati, Presi- 
 dent of the Board. 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF THE OATH OF OFFICE, by Hon. JOSEPH Cox> 
 Class of 1841, of Glendale, Judge of the Circuit Court 
 of Ohio. 
 
 INAUGURAL ADDRESS, by President WARFIELD. 
 
 BENEDICTION, by Rev. W. J. MCSURELY, D. D., Class of 1856, 
 of Hillsboro. 
 
 The address of the President of the Board of Trustees and 
 
Iv. Prefatory Note. 
 
 the Inaugural Address, are here published by order of the Board 
 of Trustees. It was also intended to publish the address of the 
 President of the Alumni Association, and the appearance of this 
 pamphlet has been delayed in consequence of that intention, but 
 Colonel Brice, whose address was not written out in full, has been 
 prevented by a pressure of other duties from preparing his ad- 
 dress for publication. 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 ON BEHALF OK 
 
 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 
 
 HON. JOHN W. HERRON, LL. D., PRESIDENT. 
 
PRESIDENT HERRON'S ADDRESS. 
 
 MY FRIENDS AND FELLOW CITIZENS : 
 
 It is now a little more than sixty-four years since 
 the first inauguration of a President of The Miami Uni- 
 versity took place. In March, 1825, Robert H. Bishop 
 was the leading and conspicuous actor in a performance, 
 having in view the same object as that which engages 
 us to-day. Then was seen the beginning of that educa- 
 tional life to which we are attempting to-day to add new 
 and youthful vigor. How different the scene that greet- 
 ed the eyes of those who witnessed that inauguration 
 how few of those who witnessed it are with us to-day. 
 
 One present on that occasion has given this descrip- 
 tion of the scene : 
 
 * ' There was a great crowd at the inauguration : people 
 coming from all the couutry around for six or eight miles. The 
 yard was full of men, women and children. It was a beautiful 
 day in early spring. There was a procession headed by a band 
 of music, a big drum and a little drum, two or three fifes, a 
 fiddle or two, a flageolet, and perhaps a brass horn. As they 
 passed through the yard among the stumps, and around the big 
 building, all were joyous and glad." 
 
 Then the country around was but newly opened ; 
 the population was small and scattered ; the roads were 
 few and badly improved ; the lands but partially culti- 
 vated. It was new country still inhabited by the origi- 
 nal settlers who had wrested it from the wild beasts, and 
 still fiercer Indian. In such a country, amidst such a 
 population, was planted the Institution which the trus- 
 tees represent to-day. It was something new, and pre- 
 sented wholly different interests from those which before 
 
8 President Herron's Address. 
 
 that had occupied the thoughts and labors of the people. 
 No wonder that on that bright spring morning of the 
 30th of March, 1825, there assembled on these same 
 grounds a large and deeply interested pongregation 
 not only of the men, women and children of the village 
 of Oxford then numbering in all but a few hundred 
 but of the farmers who had leased the college lands, and 
 made there a home, and their families ; of citizens from 
 the adjoining counties, from the neighboring cities, and 
 even from other States ; coming on foot and on horse- 
 back, and in wagons over the corduroy roads of that day; 
 meeting here to bid Godspeed to the Institution of learn- 
 ing that had been planted through the bounty of the 
 General Government, and also to welcome, encourage, 
 and cheer on that great and good man who had accept- 
 ed its presidency ; who had left another institution al- 
 ready in full operation, and risked all upon his success 
 here. Can any of you picture in your mind that assem- 
 bly and that scene ? The buildings which are before 
 us : the grounds that are about us the views now with- 
 in the glance of our eyes are the same as those looked 
 upon then but yet how different is their coloring and 
 beauty. The very campus in which we meet represents 
 in its improvement that of the country at large. What 
 was then a bare piece of land is now covered by verdure 
 and trees. The village has grown from its few inexpen- 
 sive frame buildings, to the beautiful town of which we 
 are all proud. The land has become a cultivated garden ; 
 the country has leaped forward in great strides of pro- 
 gress. It would be vain for me to attempt to describe 
 that progress. I only refer to it to ask how much of it 
 may be attributed to the work begun on that March 
 morning. The school then started into life has been an 
 unceasing source of education, morality and religion 
 throughout this entire region of country. Its influence 
 
President Herrorts Address. 9 
 
 has-been felt not only in this immediate vicinity, but in 
 every part of our country, and is still working silently, 
 but more and more widely. 
 
 Robert !}. Bishop, who was then inaugurated, was 
 a model President. Honest and sound in his doctrinal 
 teaching: learned and able in his instruction both in the 
 classroom and pulpit : wise and loving in his govern- 
 ment and dicipline, he made the institution a success 
 from the beginning. No greater evidence can I give of 
 his far-seeing intelligence, than the following words 
 from the inaugural address delivered on that occasion : 
 
 "We are a part of this mighty nation. This institution 
 which we are now organizing is one of the outposts of her ex- 
 tended and extending possessions. Only a generation hence, 
 and what is now an outpost will be the center. * * * Other 
 sixty years hence, and the population will, in all probability, be 
 extended to the Pacific Ocean." 
 
 He loved and watched over the students, and in re- 
 turn had their love and respect. He labored constantly 
 for the good of the college and of the community, and 
 in return he had ever the confidence and affection of all 
 who had the interests of this institution at heart. He 
 always advocated, and illustrated by his life, the cause 
 of education, morality and religion, and his name and 
 character became known and revered everywhere. Such 
 was the commencement of The Miami University ; and 
 the character of the first Presidency in its history. 
 
 Following in order came the names of Junkin ; of 
 McMaster ; of Anderson ; of Hall ; and of Stanton : all 
 men of eminent learning, of high character, and suc- 
 cessful as teachers. They have all gone to their reward. 
 Only Hepburn and McFarland, of those who have 
 served as Presidents, remain. The others have left 
 each his personal character impressed on the history of 
 our University. They still live in the grateful remem- 
 brance of many who experienced and were benefitted by 
 
io President Herr oil's Address. 
 
 their influence while here. Of the living, the proper 
 time has not yet come to speak. 
 
 In these sixty-five years of College 'History we have 
 met the usual fate of such institutions. Success and 
 reverses ; sunshine and clouds ; fair sailing and storms 
 have alternated from time to time ; yet in all of them a 
 great and good work has been done a work felt in all 
 the departments of our country, a work of which none 
 of us have reason to be ashamed. 
 
 And now we come to-day to inaugurate another Presi- 
 dent : on the one hand, to place upon him the cares and 
 responsibilities of this great work, and, on the other, 
 to encourage and aid him in its accomplishment. 
 
 On the 2ist day of June, 1888, the Trustees, by a 
 unanimous vote, elected Bthelbert Dudley Warfield, 
 then of Lexington, Kentucky, President of Miami Uni- 
 versity. In advising him of this election, the Trustees 
 conveyed to him the assurance of their fixed determina- 
 tion every one of them, and in every possible manner 
 to give him their support : their assistance : their con- 
 fidence. Without such assurance honestly, cordially, 
 and constantly exhibited, they knew success would 
 be impossible. They saw that the work before him 
 would be arduous and trying ; that difficulties, under 
 the most favorable circumstances, would be constantly 
 arising, and that any want of harmony among those in 
 authority would be disastrous in the extreme ; and they 
 resolved that they would neither originate or encourage 
 dissensions or bickerings. 
 
 They promised, further, not only their own co-oper- 
 ation, but that of the community in which we are placed, 
 and of the friends of the University wherever they maybe. 
 For their own co-operation the Trustees are responsible, 
 and they have in their own hands the power to execute 
 it. But the other assurance is still more important and 
 
President Herrorfs Address. n 
 
 
 essential to the prosperity of the University and for 
 this we can only appeal to the intelligence and good 
 will of those for whom the assurance was given. I de- 
 sire, therefore, to-day, to impress upon every one who 
 hears me, the duty of each in this regard ; and to ask 
 that for themselves they will resolve to give this sup- 
 port and encouragement to the new faculty of the Uni- 
 versity, and that they will, in every possible way, im- 
 press upon others who are not here, who are friends 
 either of this particular institution, or of higher educa- 
 tion generally, the importance of a like encouragement 
 from them. 
 
 To you, the people of Oxford, this is especially 
 important. In a material point of view, your pros- 
 perity and that of the University are closely allied. 
 Its prosperity brings life to you : its failure will cast its 
 shadow upon you. The closing of the University was 
 felt in all the business interests of your village. The 
 days when full classes, and happy students, and satis- 
 fied teachers were to be seen in your midst, were days 
 now remembered as red letter days in your history. 
 How much greater prosperity may you reasonably ex- 
 pect when a far greater success than any in the past 
 will add to the business and growth of your village. 
 And this growing prosperity, you have every reason to 
 expect. The increase of population : the diffusion of 
 wealth : the advance and spread of a desire for a higher 
 education, have added immensely to the number of 
 those who expect to enter our colleges. All successful 
 institutions of to-day have quadrupled the number of 
 their students over that of twenty-five years ago. We, 
 too, should exhibit the same increase, and in like pro- 
 portion add to the material benefits conferred by the 
 University on you. 
 
 But there is a higher benefit to be expected than 
 
12 President Herrorfs Address. 
 
 mere material gain. The cause of education, morality, 
 and religion as taught in this institution, exerts a high- 
 er influence, and brings a more desirable improvement 
 than the mere increase of population, or of wealth. It 
 permeates every household, however humble ; it affects 
 the happiness and character of every individual ; it ele- 
 vates the standing of every community in which it 
 flourishes. Every family circle will be the better for 
 such an institution ; every church will experience from 
 it improvement and spiritual growth, and thereby be the 
 better able to exert more extended influence. Your com- 
 mon schools will be elevated in aim and character: your 
 social life become more intellectual and devoted to 
 moral and religious improvement: new interests will be 
 inaugurated and encouraged : new tastes will be culti- 
 vated : and in every way a higher and better life entered 
 iipon. It is impossible for me to enumerate, nor is it 
 necessary that I should do so to this intelligent audience, 
 the benefits which may be expected from a successful 
 university in your midst. 
 
 With these prospects and the inestimable benefits 
 to be obtained, am I asking of you too much when I de- 
 mand of each one of you to assist us in the work before 
 us. I am afraid that you have not always done so in the 
 past. The history of Miami University has been full of 
 local bickerings and fault findings, seriously crippling its 
 prosperity and usefulness. It is very easy to criticise, 
 and find fault with what is being done. There are al- 
 ways some who mainly exercise their intellects in seek- 
 ing out defects in those who govern. Each case of disci- 
 pline is magnified into one of gross injustice : each es- 
 capade of a student is heralded as evidence of demorali- 
 zation in the University. Disputes are transformed into 
 quarrels ; justice into brutality ; while mercy is the lack 
 of all discipline. 
 
President Herrorfs Address. 13 
 
 Strangers visiting here, have frequently heard of 
 nothing but mistakes, or immoralities which rumor, or 
 the imagination of talebearers, have brought to your 
 ears. They leave with the impression that it would be 
 entirely unsafe to send their children here, or to recom- 
 mend it to others. You speak of the character and suc- 
 cess which prevailed here a quarter of a century ago : 
 and of the talents and high scholarly attainments which 
 marked the students of that time. But you are silent 
 as to the labors and patient industry and hard study of 
 to-day. You do not attempt to discover the brilliant in- 
 tellects which exist here now just as surely as they did 
 then. Did you take the trouble to investigate and trace 
 to their source the rumors that fill the air : did you as- 
 certain by personal experience the amount of work, and 
 the character of the instruction given here : " the pre- 
 cept upon precept, here a little and there a little" as 
 practiced to-day : you might be able to tell a different 
 tale, and to make friends of the institution where now 
 you spread abroad a bad name or inspire distrust. I 
 have no doubt that the citizens of Oxford alone by prop- 
 erly appreciating the value and character of this insti- 
 tution, and by making known that appreciation wherever 
 possible, could double the number of our students. By 
 all the motives which I have named ; by the desire to 
 improve the material prosperity of your village : by the 
 desire to add to the moral, religious, and intellectual ad- 
 vantages surrounding you, I call upon you all to aid, en- 
 courage and support the President whom we propose 
 this day to inaugurate. Lay aside all personal preferen- 
 ces and prejudices : listen not to idle rumor ascertain 
 for yourself the modes, quality, and amount of instruc- 
 tion as given in the class-room : ascertain the truth of 
 rumors before repeating them : seek information where 
 it can be reliably obtained : and then use your informa- 
 
14 President Herrorfs Address.. 
 
 tion and knowledge to assist, and not to discourage, the 
 authorities. I do not ask that any immoralities shall be 
 overlooked, or that failures shall be disregarded. But I 
 do ask that immoralities and failures shall not be created 
 by mere rumor, or exaggerated by imagination, or 7 
 worse still, by prejudice or vindictiveness. Seek out the 
 good as well as the evil, and give to us that help and 
 sympathy which are essential to success. 
 
 But our appeal for sympathy and co-operation is not 
 confined to the citizens of Oxford. I desire to extend 
 it to all who feel an interest in the cause of University 
 education. I appeal to the graduates and former stu- 
 dents of the University. The love which they bear to 
 the name and history of Miami University always causes 
 their eyes to turn toward her on Commencement Day- 
 This affection should not be confined to visits, and 
 dreams of the past. A more active display of this affec- 
 tion is required. You have the power to help, and now 
 we ask you to give that help. We are not asking for 
 your money , but for such sympathy and encouragement 
 as you are able to give in your daily intercourse with 
 people; a kind word a show of confidence a prayer 
 for success. 
 
 We appeal also to the friends of education, whether 
 they have ever been students here, or not. Education 
 has no mere local abode. It produces a universal brother- 
 hood. I know that it has been frequently said that 
 we have too many colleges in Ohio, that the many 
 should be consolidated so as to give us one magnificent 
 University, able to compete with those of the Eastern 
 States. This is the day of large ideas, and great enter- 
 prises : a day of trusts and of consolidations, and of 
 co-operative associations in every branch of industry. 
 But I desire to say a few words to-day in favor of col. 
 leges such as the one which we have organized here. It 
 
President Herrorfs Address. 15 
 
 is undoubtedly necessary that there should be large 
 Universities with magnificent endowments, and able 
 to thoroughly prepare students in all the Specialties of 
 Modern Education. But such Universities do not meet 
 all the demands of the present day. We do not all send 
 our children to one school where by organization and 
 distribution of work they may be more economically 
 and systematically educated. We still have home schools 
 iu which the smallest and feeblest child may be educat- 
 ed by individual attention. We do not wish to lose the 
 identity of each child in the great mass of childhood in 
 the community. Mass education may give a higher 
 average result but it levels the entire body it lowers 
 some as surely as it elevates others. With the great 
 body of children in our country, such a course is the 
 only practicable one. But at the same time it produces 
 a similar result as that from the use of machinery : the 
 product is all of equal strength and finish : no portion 
 excels that of any other portion. So it is with Univer- 
 sity education : consolidation may not always be bene- 
 ficial. Better attention to studies more careful atten- 
 tion to the individual student a better discipline 
 more watchfulness, and less inattention, may be the re- 
 sult of the education in our smaller colleges. All of our 
 young men cannot attend the great Universities. It is 
 only when such an education is brought near to their 
 homes, or within their narrow means, that many are 
 able to acquire it. The larger number of young men 
 who desire a collegiate education, and whose abilities, 
 through it, would accomplish success, would be wholly 
 deprived of its advantages if they could not obtain it 
 through such institutions. With all the advantages of 
 the large Universities over the smaller colleges, the ma- 
 jority of those who receive a collegiate education obtain 
 it in the latter. It is necessarily so ; and if such young 
 
1 6 President Herrorfs Address:. 
 
 men did not obtain their education in this way, they 
 would be deprived of it altogether. The character of 
 the education obtained,, may not be as thorough and ex- 
 tensive in many respects as that of others more favored 
 in fortune, but in many respects it is better adapted to 
 the object for which it should be sought. However 
 thorough may be the University course,, it but touches 
 the almost illimitable space over which knowledge ex- 
 tends. When the student of three score and ten looks 
 back and reviews the history of his education, how in- 
 significant that portion acquired in the University must 
 appear. How little the brightest of our students has 
 made his own on his graduating day. Education is at- 
 tained after, not before, graduation. It is a trite saying 
 - scarcely worth repeating that education in the schools 
 is not to be valued by the amount of knowledge acquir- 
 ed, but by the habits there formed, to be used in after 
 life. These habits and these powers may be as 
 thoroughly brought into action and cultivated in such 
 colleges as Miami University, as in the most thoroughly 
 equipped University in the land. The careful, conscien- 
 tious, untiring instruction of able teachers, the society 
 of a few equally devoted to mental improvement, the 
 Opportunity for studying and practicing the true princi- 
 ples of acquiring knowledge, are not wanting here. 
 And that young man who desires and is determined to 
 reach a high standard of scholarship, and to obtain the 
 full developement of his mental and moral faculties, 
 need not fear to seek it here. Such is not only what 
 may be, but it is what has been. We are not ashamed 
 of the history of the past sixty-five years. We can 
 point to our students in proof of our success. To recall 
 the names of those who have attained eminence in our 
 country, would be an injustice to the many who would 
 necessarily be omitted. 
 
President If err 01?$ Address. 17 
 
 In all the walks of life, whether as statesmen in the 
 government of our Country ; as soldiers upon the field 
 of battle ; as law makers, or those who administer the 
 laws; as ministers of the Gospel at home, or as mission- 
 aries preaching the Gospel to the heathen in all parts of 
 the world ; in the paths of literature and of science; in 
 the marts of commerce ; in industrial pursuits ; and upon 
 the farm, cultivating the earth ; everywhere they have 
 illustrated the power and success of education as it has 
 been furnished in these halls, and of the faithfulness of 
 the teachers who have labored in this University. And 
 what has been in the past, may be expected to be in the 
 future. In the future as in the past, the young men 
 who enter here may accomplish all that they resolve to 
 do. If they desire to attain eminence in scholarship^ 
 and determine to succeed, and show their faith by their 
 works failure will be impossible. 
 
 With these considerations of the uses and adapta- 
 bility of this institution to the necessities and demands 
 of collegiate education, may I not ask every one who is 
 interested in the cause of education to aid and encour- 
 age the President now to be inaugurated. No greater 
 benefit can be conferred on the community than to 
 make this University occupy the position which it once 
 did to make its reputation as extensive, and its useful- 
 ness as widespread. Neither poverty, nor condition in 
 life, should discourage any ; only determination, strong 
 desire, and industry are required. And success here 
 will surely meet success in the world not merely suc- 
 cess in acquiring knowledge, but success in building up 
 a high and noble character, and strong and manly habits. 
 
 And now, President Warfield, it becomes my duty 
 to perform the final act in your formal installation 
 as President of Miami University. The Board of Trus- 
 
1 8 President Herrorfs Address.. 
 
 tees having unanimously elected you President,, have 
 given to me the pleasant task of presenting to you the 
 insignia of that office, and to present you as such to this 
 large and interested audience. They have further di- 
 rected me to deliver to you the formal charge customary 
 on such occasions. It would be idle for me seriously to 
 attempt to perform this duty. The field which it would 
 open before us, is top broad and diversified for me 
 to enter at this time ; and its magnitude and importance, 
 far beyond my powers of discussion. It is exhibited in 
 the entire history of our institution. The ordinance of 
 1787 stated as a vital principle of good government, 
 that, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being essenti- 
 ally necessary to the ends for which States are estab- 
 lished, schools and means of education shall foreyer be 
 encouraged." Immediately after the passage of that 
 ordinance was the sale of land to John Cleves Symmes, 
 in which was the reservation of the township which sub- 
 sequently became the endowment of Miami University. 
 "Religion, morality, and knowledge," are, therefore, de- 
 clared to be the objects of the endowment, and any fail- 
 ure on our part to recognize the claim of either of these 
 objects, would be to repudiate the purpose for which it 
 was given. In the act incorporating Miami University, 
 by which this endowment was accepted and utilized, it 
 is declared that the purpose of the institution, thus cre- 
 ated, " is the instruction of youth in all the branches of 
 the liberal sciences and arts, the promotion of good edu- 
 cation, and of virtue, religion, and morality. " In these 
 words we have the leading objects for which this Uni- 
 versity was organized, and on this day we commit to your 
 care the maintainance and promotion of each of them . 
 They must always, and without distinction, be kept in 
 view as the cardinal principles of your action. 
 
 Knowledge is named first for it is the ordinar ly ac- 
 
President Herrorts Address. 19 
 
 cepted subject of collegiate education. The result, as 
 to the acquisition of knowledge, will always be regarded 
 as the main test of success or failure. While it is un- 
 doubtedly not the most important, it is still the one 
 chiefly and primarily considered by the public. Miami 
 University has always endeavored to meet this expecta- 
 tion by being thorough in its course of study. It has 
 aimed to do all that is necessary to prepare young men 
 for usefulness in active life, and to equip them with 
 habits of study and of industry, to enable them to suc- 
 ceed in the contests into which they must necessarily 
 enter. We ask of you Mr. President not only to sustain, 
 but to advance these aims still higher. It should not 
 satisfy us to live wholly in past success. The examples 
 of those who have gone out from these halls have shed 
 bright lustre upon the character of the institution. We 
 are always proud to repeat their names, and recount 
 their deeds. But we must not rest there. We should 
 not be satisfied with what others have done in the past. 
 In business, men are not accustomed to stop at the in- 
 ventions in the arts and sciences which their prede- 
 cessors have made. The discoveries of to-day have 
 wholly eclipsed those of former years, and the latter are 
 now merely regarded as mile stones in the highway of 
 improvement, and not as the goal for which we are to 
 strive. He who should determine to use no different 
 machinery from that which his father employed, would 
 soon be left behind by others, and his business be a fail- 
 ure. So it should be in the University. While we 
 should be proud of those classes who have furnished 
 useful and distinguished men to the country, and honor 
 and celebrate the virtues of those of our graduates who 
 have achieved distinction in the pursuits of life, we 
 should only use their success as stimulants to still 
 higher attainments to encourage us to send forth still 
 
20 President Herrorfs Address. 
 
 more useful and distinguished men in the future. Our 
 object should be to make this administration the one to 
 which the next will point as the brightest in our his- 
 tory : that through its labors and instruction young 
 men may be sent out who shall establish the character 
 and reputation of this University. This work again the 
 Trustees place in your hands. This history of our past 
 successes we deliver to you, but only in the hope and 
 strong assurance that you will far excel it, and that your 
 administration may furnish many subjects for praise and 
 congratulation in future occasions like the present. 
 
 But knowledge is not alone to be considered. Vir- 
 tue, morality, and religion are declared to be the objects 
 of the bounty of Government. Nor are these merely 
 secondary in importance. Without them, knowledge 
 becomes aimless, or useless, or dangerous. While they 
 are thus as important to the student, and essential to 
 the proper development of character, they are more dif- 
 ficult to inculcate successfully. The first President of 
 this institution declared that "the leading principle of 
 the government of Miami University is parental, and 
 every parent knows something of the difficulties of 
 family government." And if difficult to the parent, how 
 immeasurably more so must it be to the President and 
 Faculty of a University. The large number of young 
 men in attendance ; coining from different homes ; with 
 different tastes and dispositions; accustomed to different 
 modes of government in their previous experience : of 
 all ages and conditions in life ; with their characters 
 still unformed, and now thrown together in a small com- 
 munity; must constitute a heterogeneous mass, the 
 control and government of which must entail great dif- 
 ficulties on the college authorities. And yet the moral 
 and religious training of these young men, while under 
 your control, is vastly more important to their success 
 
President Herrorfs Address. 21 
 
 in life, than any mere educational instruction. The du- 
 ties which you owe to the parents and guardians who 
 entrust their sons and wards to your care : the duties 
 which you owe to the young men whose years and inex- 
 perience render them so susceptible to evil influence and 
 vicious indulgences : the duties which you owe to the 
 country which needs for its growth and improvement 
 the best talent of our youth, and the wisest care and 
 training of that talent ; render the responsibility rest- 
 ing upon you and us almost startling. The terrible fail- 
 ures which are constantly occurring in college lives : the 
 young men who have left home for the University with 
 bright hopes and characters still unsullied, and have 
 made shipwrecks of their lives, and brought misery to 
 homes and parents, warn us of the dangers of college 
 life, and heighten the importance of the instruction and 
 government which shall be found here. Truly this gov- 
 ernment should be parental marked by all the affection, 
 solicitude, firmness, patience, and watchfulness 
 that the wisest of parents could exercise. With such a 
 government, parents may confidingly entrust their sons 
 to your care. It seems almost vain to expect such gov- 
 ernment from human instruments. 
 
 In the charge to Dr. Bishop at the first inaugura- 
 tion I find the following language : 
 
 " But the governing of such an institution is as difficult and 
 important as the task of giving instruction; and the latter can 
 not well succeed without the former. To combine the dignity 
 and authority of the President with the affection of a parent ; the 
 impartiality and inflexibility of the judge with a sympathising 
 compassion for the victims of youthful folly; an undeviating ad- 
 herence to wholesome laws and regulations with a discriminating 
 discernment of the various shades of defalcation and crime ; to 
 guide with firm, steady rein, yet with such discretion as never to 
 break the cords with a rash or tyrannical touch, requires such an 
 assemblage of qualities, such a natural talent for governing, such 
 knowledge of mankind, such insight into the springs of human 
 
22 President Herr oil's Address. 
 
 actions, such self possession, command of temper and patience, 
 as fall to the lot of but few of the children of men." 
 
 We can only look for it in the assistance which God 
 is able an willing to give. Relying upon his promises, 
 and praying for his guidance, and governing our acts by 
 his counsels, we may hope to accomplish the purposes of 
 our organization. His word alone points out the true 
 path of success, and in him we have assurance and faith. 
 Recognizing these responsibilities imposed upon you, 
 knowing the expectations of those who are our friends 
 and patrons, and remembering the objects of the bounty 
 by which we are supported, and the benefits to our 
 Country that should be realized from it, and entrusting 
 the entire responsibility to you, it would be cowardly 
 and dishonest in the Board of Trustees did they not at 
 the same time promise you every aid and encouragement 
 in their power : to hold up your hands and sustain your 
 arms in the labors of your position : to counsel and ad- 
 vise you faithfully, whenever you may desire it : to ex- 
 ercise patience in the diffiulties to be surmounted, and 
 to look for the success which we feel confident will result 
 from your work. We bid you now God speed : we rec- 
 ommend you and your brothers of the faculty to all : we 
 have all faith and confidence in your willingness and 
 ability to crown your administration with success, and 
 to add to the prosperity and reputation of Miami Uni- 
 versity. In the name, therefore, and by the authority 
 of the Trustees of the Miami University, I deliver to 
 you the Charter and Keys of that Institution, as the 
 symbol of the authority of your office, and as evidence 
 of your complete installation as its President. 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 TH1-LBKRT DUDLEY WARFIELD, A. M., II. B. 
 
INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
 
 MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BOARD OF 
 TRUSTEES : 
 
 I am here to-day by your invitation to take formally 
 upon myself what I esteem a great trust. Your invita- 
 tion came to me unsought. I heard it with misgiving. 
 I have responded to it only because I believed it to be a 
 call to a great and noble work, worthy of a man's most 
 faithful service. How deep my conviction of this is, 
 and the earnestness of my purpose in accepting the po- 
 sition to which you have called me, I shall leave the fu- 
 ture to illustrate. For the present all personal consid- 
 erations must be lost sight of in our interest in the wel- 
 fare of this institution. I therefore invite you to join 
 me in a brief consideration of the nature and function 
 of the University, after which I shall endeavor to indi- 
 cate in a few words what I consider to be the true rela- 
 tion of this institution to the great world of letters, and 
 the particular task which devolves upon us as its officers. 
 For us the progress of learning should be an open book,' 
 known and read. We are not the sons of any one estab- 
 lishment, but of many. We have brought hither tender 
 love and reverence each for his own Alma Mater. We 
 do not forget, we rather seek to honor, them by service 
 in another school. The treasures which they have im- 
 parted to us we have brought hither and our one con- 
 
26 Inaugural Address. 
 
 sideration is how best to spend and be spent in the ser- 
 vice of Miami University. 
 
 The term University is one of those concerning 
 which it is dangerous to dogmatise. The original and 
 secondary meanings of the word are so different, and 
 the growth of that particular institution which, out of 
 the many to which it once equally belonged, has en- 
 grossed to itself the name University, has been so slow 
 and yet so great ; the foreign elements which it has 
 drawn to itself have been so many and in different lands 
 and different ages so various, even so oppugnant ; that 
 the most impartial student, when he seeks to explain 
 the term, finds the problem highly complex. If it were 
 possible, however, to enter this field as a first explorer 
 it might not be too much to hope that with the aid of 
 subtle analysis and cautious generalization a conclusion 
 might be reached which would commend itself to all. 
 But unhappily the field has been pre-empted by doctrin- 
 aires. Nearly every peculiar developement of the Uni- 
 versity idea has some doughty champion who claims for 
 his Alma Mater the only true descent, who maintains 
 that she has not changed but merely developed, that she 
 represents the perfect type pre-figured in the germ and 
 unmarred by grafts ; that her fabric alone exhibits but 
 a just expansion of the essence which the original Uni- 
 versitas contained in potential indeed, but still con- 
 tained, ready to be evolved by the fruitful soil and ge- 
 nial clime which had only been found on her beautiful 
 hill and beside the flashing waters which mirror the 
 towers of her ancient halls. Not only is this so, but 
 the man of science brings the inductive method to bear 
 upon the problem, classifies, arranges and produces a re- 
 sult which he fondly fancies has upon it the indicia of 
 absolute truth ; the philosopher inquires into the essence 
 
Inaugural Address* 27 
 
 and differentia, on seemingly immutable grounds deter- 
 mines what the concept connotes and denotes, rises by 
 all the steps which an hundred generations have acqui- 
 esced in as the instruments of irrefragable logic and 
 offers a conclusion not less confidently believed to rep- 
 resent the ultimate truth ; then comes the historian, 
 he cares little for the things that do exist in the Univer- 
 sity, he cares less for the things that must exist therein, 
 he rather asks whence came this institution, upon what 
 foundations was it built, what materials were used in its 
 construction, what forms has it taken, where has devel- 
 opement of the plan to subserve one end led the build- 
 ers to depart from the original in one direction, where 
 in another, and having gathered his data he proceeds 
 to show that like all human institutions the University 
 is not the untrammeled developement of a single mental 
 concept, that it grew as time and place demanded, that 
 it adapted itself to its circumstances, and that for any 
 one special form to claim exclusive right to the name is 
 at once illogical and untrue. 
 
 And in seeking an analogue to illustrate his posi- 
 tion the historian finds none so fitting as that afforded 
 by the buildings in which the University has chiefly 
 found its homes. The Universities of Europe are to us 
 inseparably connected with the beautiful Gothic halls in 
 which their learned men have lectured; with the high arch- 
 ed libraries in which are stored the learning of the ages; 
 with the beautiful chapels, adorned with quaint tracery 
 and strange gargoyles, dedicated to the service of Him 
 who is the well-spring of all wisdom. These beautiful 
 expressions of the builder's skill men unite in calling by 
 the name of Gothic Architecture. But no one is so bold 
 as to venture a definition of that term. It is easy to say 
 that it is an art which mirrors the genius of the races 
 of Western Europe who built their lives into its fabrics ; 
 
28 Inaugural Address. 
 
 that it lias in every age and every land formulated for it- 
 self rules which perpetuated for a time the symetry of 
 the proportions already attained ; that' again and again 
 under some fresh impulse it burst its too-strait bands 
 and with exuberant life realized fresh ideals and created 
 new forms. But to speak thus is but to confess that a 
 brief and convenient definition is unatainable, to aban- 
 don as hopeless the task of finding some scientific nexus 
 between the lancet lights that look out upon Oxford's 
 " studious cloisters pale" and the lines that Lombard 
 genius traced upon Bologna's stones. It is to proclaim 
 that we must be content with facts mere crude facts 
 however beautiful " secreted from man's life when 
 hearts beat hard, and brains, high-blooded gave birth 
 to splendid thoughts. 
 
 The word Universitas, whence by direct adoption 
 we have our word University, did not at first signify an 
 institution of learning, but any sort of corporation. It 
 was equally applicable to the corporation of a town, to 
 a guild of merchants, or any other of the innumerable 
 companies, societies and institutions which were granted 
 privileges and possessed a corporate or quasi-corporate 
 existence under the law. It was not until the fourteenth 
 century that the institutions of learning attained such 
 pre-eminence as to become the Universilates universi- 
 latium, henceforth to be designated simply as Universi- 
 tales without the addition of descriptive words. Pre- 
 viously we read of the Universitas magistrorun et dis- 
 cipulorum or scholariiim the corporation of teachers and 
 scholars, and in the privileges granted and the terms 
 used to describe these corporations we are forced to rec- 
 ognize products of the time and soil. 
 
 Without forgetting how much of truth there is in 
 that view of the continuity of history developed with so 
 much simple power by Dr. Arnold, and exploited with 
 
Inaugural Address. 29 
 
 so much irascibility by Prof. Freeman ; without loosing 
 sight for a moment of that philosophy of history, which 
 I most cordially' adopt, which teaches that the evolution 
 of society is but the development of the eternal counsels 
 of the Creator; it is not too much to say that the hiatus 
 between the schools of Antiquity and of the Middle 
 Ages is complete. The flames sank upon the altars of 
 Athens, Alexandria and Rome : paganism became effete. 
 The learning of the schools was not lost. Plato and 
 Aristotle, Galen and Gains, survived to delight and in- 
 struct many generations : but the methods of teaching, 
 the manner of the masters, were utterly superceded. 
 The old schools in the old hands clung to the old learn- 
 ing because it was old, because in an age of flux it had 
 the claims of tradition and appeared to be the one hope 
 of fixity. The new learning naturally found it neces- 
 sary to have schools which should teach its wisdom. 
 That wisdom as yet was simple and single. Its only text 
 book was the gospel, its teachers were the priests, its 
 home under the shadow of the sacred edifice. 
 
 When the shock of barbarian invasion was over 
 the Christian schools slowly emerged from the splendid 
 civilization which had been overthrown. As time went 
 on, as the barbarian races one by one bent their victorious 
 heads to receive the symbol of the world rule of the 
 Prince of Peace, the schools slowly but surely developed. 
 Two types at length became notable. The Monastic 
 schools of the Benedictine order, of which Monte Cas- 
 sino is the type; and the episcopal schools such as those 
 of Seville in Spain, of Paris in France and of York in 
 England. The one type trained in the cloisters of their 
 monasteries the novitiates who should recruit their 
 order ; the other within the precincts of the cathedral 
 trained those who were destined for the secular clergy. 
 
 The teaching in these schools was at first slight, 
 
30 Inaugural Address. 
 
 and varied little the one from the other. The course 
 was divided into two parts, the triviwn, or the three 
 branches of grammar, rhetoric and logic ; and the quad- 
 rivium, or four branches of arithmetic, geometry, music 
 and astronomy. These seven branches were known as 
 the liberal arts ; hence the name applied to the course 
 to this day. 
 
 He who had completed his course in arts was re- 
 quired to show his capacity by presenting and publicly 
 defending a thesis. Upon the successful accomplish- 
 ment of this feat he was licensed to teach and so became 
 a Magister. Down to a comparatively late day the de- 
 gree was inseparable from the idea of teaching as a pro- 
 fession. In fine, the school was a guild of teachers. 
 
 The regular guild organization consisted at first of 
 masters and apprentices. Gradually an intermediate 
 grade stepped in under the name of journeyman in 
 England, of garcon in France. At the completion of a 
 certain period of service the apprentice and garcon were 
 required to offer to the heads of the corporation a piece 
 of work in proof of their skill. So the student who 
 had passed three or four years in the trivium was form- 
 ally presented before the faculty and became a bachelor 
 of arts upon being approved by them. Prof. Laurie 
 traces the derivation of the word to baccalarius, a " cow- 
 boy ;" a name which seems to the present generation 
 more applicable to the undergraduate than the post 
 graduate student. But as the word came to mean gen- 
 erally a " lad " the analogy with the term garcon is very 
 striking, and becomes even more so when it is remem- 
 bered that as the garcon was licensed to work under a 
 master so the bachelor was permitted to teach. The 
 master-piece and the thesis of the Masters in the differ- 
 ent departments are sufficiently obvious analogues. 
 
 Nor did the likeness of the guild stop here. It was 
 
Inaugural Address. 31 
 
 customary for the masters in every guild to choose out 
 of their number a rector to preside over them, and 
 while they were vested with high privileges in the way 
 of self government they were still under the general 
 law of the land. So we find the masters in the Univer- 
 sities choosing from their number a rector, while over 
 and above the rector, over and above the rectors, as the 
 guild divided and became more and more complex in 
 function with a number of faculties each of which had 
 its own rector (or dean), was the Chancellor, usually the 
 representative of the Bishop whose diocesan school the 
 University was. 
 
 But there were hundreds of schools scattered 
 throughout the length and breadth of Europe. What 
 was the fact which differentiated one class of them so 
 completely from their fellows that while the few grew 
 and rose steadily till they engrossed the name of Uni- 
 versity, the many sank back into mere schools of the 
 modern type ? How did it happen that the great mon- 
 astic schools of Bee (which gave to England two of her 
 greatest Archbishops, L,anfranc and Anselm), and St, 
 Martin of Tours, remained simple monastic schools, 
 while Paris and Louvain rose to the highest grade of 
 the true University ? that the monastic school of Monte 
 Cassino developed into the University of Salernum, 
 while the cathedral school of Milan remained but a 
 school ? that the Archiepiscopal school of York, the 
 Lamp of the North, which had lighted the darkness of 
 Anglo-Saxon England and sped a revival of letters 
 through the north of Europe sending the illustrious Al- 
 cuin to be the chief intellectual adornment of the Court 
 of Karl the Great, remained but an episcopal school 
 while the once feeble school of Oxford, afar from its 
 Cathedral's fostering care became nevertheless the u Glory 
 of Merrie England," the friend of letters, the mother of 
 
32 Inaugural Address. 
 
 reformers, the nurse of the truth ? We need not pause 
 to trace the particular cause or causes in each particu- 
 lar case ; it will suffice to say that the presence or ab- 
 sence of what we may call the University spirit was the 
 controlling cause. 
 
 In the twelfth century began the movement which 
 turned the world upside down. The spirit of feudalism 
 knew but two sources of power, land and the sword. 
 The old civilization which had been overturned but not 
 destroyed had one master thought, the State. The 
 heart of the great Germanic people had written upon it 
 one inerasible sentence : "Each individual is responsi- 
 ble for himself." How were these principles of arm 
 and head and heart ever to be reconciled. The First, 
 tended to a landed aristocracy depending upon the 
 strong arm ; the Second, to a highly organized central 
 power resting upon law ; the Third, towards the high- 
 est freedom of the individual, even to Democracy. It 
 was not long till it became evident that the first was the 
 temporary element and that law and liberty were the 
 permanent elements : the two elements out of which 
 Rome and her conquerors were to unite to build a new 
 world and a higher civilization. And it was in the land 
 of letters that the two were to coalesce. 
 
 The impulse of which I have spoken was a world 
 impulse. Every land and every people ; aye, every 
 condition of society was to feel its. influence. It was 
 various in its manifestation, but always light warring 
 against the power of darkness, reason against unreason. 
 The villein and the surf put off the yoke and became 
 freeman ; men who were free in name banded them- 
 selves together and became free in fact, despite the op- 
 position of an insolent baronage and the resistance of 
 kings, who loved the semblance rather than the sub- 
 stance of power : kings curbed the loose lives and ra- 
 
Inaugural Address. 33 
 
 pacious greed of their liegemen ; the nobles taught 
 their overlords the difference between prerogative and 
 tyranny; the Church rebuilt her altars and restored her 
 temples and shone for a time in the benignant light of 
 her world ambition, the shepherd of the people, the reg- 
 ulator of rulers, the dispenser of power, the spouse of 
 the Lord whose sole service was the glory of her master. 
 In every land Liberty loosed the shackles of the op- 
 pressed, Law brought the sons of chaos under her re- 
 gimen, Truth opened the eyes of the blind, and Learn- 
 ing trimmed her lamp to lead men through the still dark 
 and devious paths. The impulses which brought on this 
 movement were both external and internal. Perhaps it 
 is safe to say that the great impulse was internal and 
 nothing less than the inherent necessity of action which 
 dominates the character of every true man. The world 
 .sank down exhausted after the conflicts which over- 
 turned the old order of things. Slowly but surely fer- 
 mentation went on in the mass of humanity. Men like 
 Charlemagne and Otto the Great, and Otto III, Mir a- 
 bills Mundi, arose to show that the heart of man had 
 not ceased to expand with high and noble ideas. 
 
 Such men found the world unable to respond to 
 their call, unable to rise to their ideals. A few kindred 
 spirits they discovered, mostly priests and monks living 
 in the scholastic seclusion of their Universities and mon- 
 asteries. In these men devoted to a service not of this 
 world they found all that was known of the old learn- 
 ing, of the splendid fabric of Roman Jurisprudence, of 
 the lost administrative art. Calling them to their aid 
 they made them their secretaries, justiciars, chancellors, 
 ministers. The church through the schools became 
 mistress of the governmental machinery of Europe. 
 The elevation of their sons brought new honor and in- 
 creased privileges to the schools. 
 
34 Inaugural Address. 
 
 The church too found her schools reacting- on her- 
 self. The world as it awoke asked more of its ministers- 
 of truth. Vulgar miracles no longer sufficed for prince 
 and people alike. The higher truths of theology were 
 now demanded. Not that men were yet ready for the 
 full simplicity of truth. Stimulated by the sharp dis- 
 tinctions and broad generalization of the civil law, men 
 were yet intoxicated by the vanity of conscious super- 
 iority of knowledge. Sublety and casuistry took the 
 place of simplicity : the form rather than the substance 
 of the Civil law passed into the church's service in the 
 Canon law, and while it took root and grew, some were 
 true to the higher service. Thus theologic teaching 
 wavered from truth to triviality. 
 
 These three branches, the Civil, and the Canon Laws, 
 and Theology, are those which most occupied in this 
 period of awakening the attention of the Magistri^ the 
 teachers in the Universities. It was sometime before 
 any of these subjects became a part of the regular in- 
 struction. Indeed, before they were lectured on in any 
 University, under the influence of an external impulse 
 received from the Saracens, a school of Medicine sprang 
 up at Monte Cassino, giving to that school the priority 
 as the first to yield to the spirit of expansion and spec- 
 ialization. In a short time the new order of things is 
 well illustrated by the schools of Salernum, Bologna and 
 Paris the homes of medicine, law and theology. For 
 a long period these three great schools had no other fac- 
 ulties outside of the faculty of Arts, than those of their 
 specialty. The faculties had been established because 
 there was a demand for them. No sooner were they es- 
 tablished than aspiring young men flocked to their lec- 
 tures. We wonder at, we even grow extremely skepti- 
 cal about, the numbers which are said to have attended 
 these schools. But were the scholars in Paris five or 
 
Inaugural Address. 35 
 
 thirty thousand in this epoch, they were many, they 
 thronged the town, the hostels overflowed, the lecturers 
 knew not how to reach them with the waters for which 
 they thirsted. What a change from the scene where in 
 some little building connected with the cathedral or 
 monastery the youth in little groups gathered without 
 books to write down upon their waxen tablets at the dic- 
 tation of their masters the elements of grammar and 
 rhetoric. Nor was the change only apparent. On the 
 one hand a real thirst for knowledge had sprung up, oil 
 the other the demand had produced men capable of re- 
 sponding to it, men like Irnerius at Bologna, Abelard at 
 Paris, Gerald at Oxford, to whom the students eagerly 
 flocked. The change in fact, induced a change in name: 
 the schools which had leaped into renewed life at the 
 touch of their wizards' wand became known as Studia 
 Gcneralia* It is almost as hard to define the Studium 
 Generate as the University. It was certainly from the 
 first a free school, open to students from all the world, 
 it was not at first characterized as it afterwards came 
 to be, by general instruction in all departments, nor was 
 it organized at first into nations, each with its rector or 
 dean. The four so called indispensable faculties of arts, 
 law, medicine and theology were long not to be found 
 in any : the organization of students into nations was a 
 comparatively late device for the better government of 
 the disorderly throng of students from many and often 
 hostile countries. 
 
 If we look closely we may reduce the essentials of 
 the Studium Generate once more to the University spirit. 
 In the first phase it was merely an eager reaching forth 
 towards learning. It was found in purely art schools. 
 Now it has advanced and we find it concerned with spec- 
 ial studies looking definitively to the professions the 
 three professions of law, medicine and theology. 
 
36 Inaugural Address. 
 
 Almost at once a further step was taken. We havt 
 seen that the Universitas^as built upon the guild basis 
 which w r as essentially one of independence and self- 
 government, or broadly stated of privilege ; the old 
 writers agree that high and special privileges are among 
 the indispensable indicia of the Universitas. The Stu- 
 dium Generate declared its freedom at an early day. It 
 was assertively secular. It even maintained for many 
 centuries a non local character. The University at 
 Bologna once emigrated to Vicenza, when its privileges 
 were not respected. Paris emigrated ; mainly to Oxford; 
 Oxford emigrated to Stamford and so on. They faith- 
 fully maintained that truth was free, and that the 
 knowledge and teaching of it should be free also. 
 Wherever these privileges were not faithfully main- 
 tained the spirit died out and the school sank back into 
 a local and narrow sphere. To those which maintained 
 their lofty character the successive years brought fresh 
 grants of privileges. The revival of letters broadened 
 their scope and with increased knowledge came augmen- 
 tation of power. Universities now no longer grew by 
 years of painful contest with the forces of darkness, 
 but sprang full grown from the brain of the State. 
 Kings finding the old institutions the brightest jewels in 
 their crowns, founded others and endowed them with 
 splendid gifts. Other monarchs viewing with envy 
 these adornments of other realms which their own did 
 not possess created Universities that their subjects 
 might not go abroad to slake the now universal thirst 
 and that they themselves might enjoy the honor and 
 consideration which these republics of letters reflected 
 upon princes. 
 
 When we have reached this period the University 
 idea has crystallized into a conception which may be 
 defined as an institution of learning enjoying the right 
 
Inaugural Address. 37 
 
 of self government and other high privileges from the 
 state, open to all the world, instructing in all branches 
 of learning by means of four faculties, that of arts be- 
 ing general and fundamental and its degrees essential to 
 the pursuit of studies in any of the others. It is per- 
 haps needless to remark that probably no institution at 
 any one time fulfilled all these conditions. Some found 
 their affairs intermeddled with by the State, some pro- 
 posed religious tests, some wanted one faculty and some 
 another, some did not require degrees in arts for the 
 pursuit of the studies in other faculties. But in all the 
 true essence is to be discerned, the spirit of the Univer- 
 sity. 
 
 It is worthy of note that in the course of the 
 present century a new idea has taken root in our Uni- 
 versities, an idea which though new in form is in es- 
 sence a return to the oldest type. This idea is based on 
 the development of courses subsequent to the course 
 leading to the bachelor's degree, marked by several years 
 of University residence in the pursuit of some special 
 non-professional department of learning, largely with a 
 view to teaching or the filling of some post for which 
 special training of this character is demanded. The 
 degree of Doctor, once used interchangeably with that 
 of Master and Licentiate in our English Universities 
 has been imported from the continent of Europe to 
 mark this course. It is as perfect an analogue as possi- 
 ble of the old English degree of master after the intro- 
 duction of the rule which permitted the masters to teach 
 or not to teach at their election. The magistri non re- 
 gentes of Oxford exactly correspond to our modern Doc- 
 tors of Philosophy and Doctors of Science in the char- 
 acter of their course and the requisites of attaining the 
 degree. 
 
 In this too I may be pardoned for seeing a man ifes- 
 
38 Inaugural Address. 
 
 tation of the University Spirit. The dishonor into 
 which all degrees have fallen by the abuse of them ; 
 the constant conferring of degrees in absentia without 
 any proper inquiry as to whether any work has actually 
 been done or not ; especially the reckless distribution of 
 the degree of master of arts ; has brought the old de- 
 grees into contempt. The University if it has the spirit 
 of truth would fain have all who bear her name bear 
 also some part of her nature, and would confer no 
 empty honor on any man. 
 
 And this leads me at once to consider the function 
 of the University. Surely of that there can be little 
 doubt. It is to teach all learning in the most liberal 
 spirit. Human endeavors never rise to the height of 
 human aspirations. What University can hope to in- 
 struct in all knowledge? None assuredly. And yet 
 what brave heart ever gave over a task merely because 
 it was unattainable? How is this problem to be ap- 
 proached? Let the history of University development 
 supply the answer. By doing well whatever is done, 
 by emulously stretching forward to the fuller develop- 
 ment of the course. Some have thought it wise find- 
 ing the whole task too much for their strength, to limit 
 themselves by limiting the liberality of spirit, as if men 
 grew stronger by placing shackles upon their limbs. 
 Others, more truly wise, have recognized at various 
 times a special need for various branches of learning 
 and have established schools for the purpose of supply- 
 ing the want. But when those schools have burst the 
 swaddling bands of youth and pressed on to the goal 
 with swift and certain feet they have lamented this. If 
 the institutions still sought truth and still subserved 
 the cause of sound learning they would have been truer 
 to their early wisdom, if they had rejoiced that their 
 influence was widened. 
 
Inaugural Address. 39 
 
 On the other hand nothing is more distinctly taught 
 by history than the folly of attempting too much. The 
 Universitas which only possessed the original art school 
 when more fortunate fellows imparted instruction to 
 thronging thousands in every department of knowledge 
 might have been left behind in the race, but if it did, 
 what it did, well, it was fulfilling its destiny and de- 
 served no man's contempt. The too eager school, on 
 the other hand, which assumed faculties it could not 
 support was false to its function and but deserved to die 
 and be forgotten. 
 
 There is no more splendid conception than this of 
 a highly developed and fully organized institution of 
 learning. It must in its very nature be free, every 
 branch of learning must stand upon an equal footing, 
 every man who comes within its sacred precincts must 
 be partaker of its liberties, master and student must be 
 influenced by a common love of wisdom, between them 
 there should exist a bond of brotherhood. It should 
 freely defy kings when assailed in its privileges and as- 
 sert truth against authority. But let us well remember 
 that liberty is not license, that freedom is not the foe, 
 but the spouse of law. That the fear of the Lord is the 
 beginning of wisdom and the service of our God the 
 sum of all knowledge. Liberty does not imply that 
 there should be license to teach that science fasely so 
 called that is at war with truth and is the nursing 
 mother of anarchy. Republics are governed by laws 
 not less stringent than those of absolute monarchies, 
 supported by a sanction not less perfect than that which 
 gives effect to the edicts of the white Czar. Nor does 
 a man become any less fallible because he has entered 
 the portals of the house where freedom dwells and truth 
 is served and wisdom is open to all. The privileges of 
 citizenship in this commonwealth should be granted to 
 
4-O Inaugural Address. 
 
 those only who are worthy; none should be permitted 
 to retain them who drag them in the mire. But within 
 its boundaries there should be no eye service, no party 
 conflict, no private contention, no personal criticism ; 
 but only faithful service and studious endeavors to serve 
 the republic. 
 
 Such in brief outline is the conception which I 
 have formed of the nature and function of the Univer- 
 sity. I might add to the account both of its nature and 
 its function Mark Pattison's happy phraze, and claim 
 that it should be the "organ of the intellectual life of 
 the Nation." But our land is too wide for any one Uni- 
 versity to fill so large a sphere ; though doubtless this 
 character should appertain to the summation of all our 
 Universities. I should be more tempted to begin, and 
 end, with his further definition of the University as 
 "the school of learning, the nursery of the liberal arts, 
 the academy of the sciences, the home of letters, the 
 retreat of the studious and the contemplative," but 
 however true, however suggestive, such a definition is, 
 it is too vague to be a lamp to our feet. Cardinal 
 Newman in his brilliant essay on "The Rise and Pro- 
 gress of Universities" shrinks from too concise a defini- 
 tion and contents himself with a description composed 
 of a series of glowing terms thrown together in rich 
 confusion, declaring that a University "is this and a 
 great deal more, and demands a somewhat better head 
 and hand than mine to describe it well." The better 
 head and hand is a thing not to be realized. But the 
 task before us is a sober one, for which rhetoric and 
 striking generalizations however eloquent, will not avail. 
 I shall, therefore, strive to indicate with as much defl- 
 niteness as possible the manner in which I conceive 
 the ideas already advanced can be best applied in our 
 immediate province. 
 
Inaugural Address. 41 
 
 Out of a true love for learning those sturdy men 
 who built for themselves a home and established a free 
 government in the wilderness erected here a beginning 
 of such an institution as that which we have been con- 
 sidering. At first the labor of their hands wrought out 
 but a pioneer school house, then came, after a period of 
 years, a fuller and a higher school with a broader foun- 
 dation and a truer spirit of learning. To this beginning 
 they gave the name this institution continues to bear, a 
 name which tells us that it was the child of their hopes, 
 and that they saw against the skies of a far future day 
 the towers and domes of stately halls gleaming in the 
 noontide of prosperity. The noble men of old built 
 their lives into her fabric and left the task to later years 
 and other generations to carry it on to completion. To- 
 day we behold a more fully equipped and highly spec- 
 ialized school than has ever existed here. To-day we 
 hope the signs are favorable for the return of that spirit 
 which made this thirty years ago a truer University 
 than we can say it is to-day. For, as we have seen, no 
 congregation of learned men, no collection of stately 
 buildings, no splendid endowments and privileges, no 
 patronage of letters, can make a University. You may 
 bring all these things together and yet have but a soul- 
 less body. What must be done to breathe into such a 
 frame the breath of life the University Spirit ? We 
 must have students, young men eager and anxious to 
 drink of her sweet waters ; young men animated by the 
 pure desire of learning for its own sake. Without such 
 students a school is possible. Without such students 
 the stern rule of authority may secure prefunctory at- 
 tendance upon the daily exercises, may extract from un- 
 willing minds a poor modicum of the precious truth 
 poured forth to them in lectures and dictata. But with- 
 out them a University is impossible. They make the 
 
42 Inaugural Address. 
 
 demand, the faculty must afford the supply. If there is 
 no demand the supply should not be expected to flow 
 even out of the utmost abundance. He who will take 
 not need not expect to be filled. Who is so unwise as 
 to pour precious ointment into broken vessels? Let me 
 not be misconstrued into a seeming criticism upon the 
 young men whom it has been my privilege to assist in in- 
 structing during the year which closes to-day. I have 
 found a real delight in teaching some of them, and were 
 they one and all animated by the spirit of which I 
 speak their youth and opportunities would preclude 
 them from supplying that demand in its fulness, even 
 aside from the fact that they are not numerous enough 
 to fulfill the first condition of demand. But as I turn 
 my eyes on to the future I hope that I discern the 
 promise of a development of such a demand. Without 
 it we cannot hope to flourish ; with it I dare express a 
 confidence that Miami University will regain her old- 
 time honor. When I remember that in the old days 
 men were gathered by the magic of a single voice to the 
 academic halls of this or that institution; that in a dozen 
 or score of years institutions were raised out of obscur- 
 ity into prominence by the learning or skill in disputa- 
 tion of some one who held its principal chair ; and that 
 in the common view of this new world he who occupies 
 the post to which you have called me is expected by 
 qualities of one kind or another to fill the place such 
 men have crowned with the fruits of their lives ; I am 
 filled with a sense of insufficiency. To even hope all 
 that a man dare hope in such circumstances, seems the 
 acme of human vanity. But the day is passed for hesi- 
 tancy, the day for a pretentious humility never comes 
 to a true man. I have assumed the task : I have done 
 the utmost in my power the year that is past, the con- 
 ditions of the problem before me I have found intensely 
 
Inaugural Address. 43 
 
 difficult, but by no means impossible of realization. If 
 they are to be fulfilled the utmost cordiality in all our 
 relations, your prompt assistance in certain departments 
 of our common work, and time, are essential.' That 
 these things will be readily conceded in the future as in 
 the past I have no doubt. In the faculty which you 
 have summoned to my assistance I have found learning 
 which has commanded my admiration, earnestness of 
 spirit which has inspired me with hope, manly frank- 
 ness which has won my confidence. It perhaps does 
 not concern you especially, but I may be pardoned for 
 adding that while the President of the University hon- 
 ors and esteems them one and all as his trusted counse- 
 lors and faithful coadjutors, that I find no little pleas- 
 ure in feeling that the official tie is strengthed by a per- 
 sonal one only less close. Knowing them as I know 
 them to-day, I feel no little confidence in promising that 
 the genius of sound learning and the spirit of freedom 
 will be found in these halls. The arts are not less 
 sisters that they are become more than seven. The older 
 sisters gladly concede their younger sisters places at 
 their side. The old lines have been lost and forgotten. 
 Philosophy, Science, Literature and History afford us 
 innumerable branches for our teaching ; from these it 
 will be our task to select, first, those the value of which 
 is chiefly disciplinary, and secondly, those which will 
 give love of learning and breadth of vision to the 
 novice. Naturally the hill must be climbed before the 
 splendid prospect which its summit affords can gladden 
 the eyes. And if the muscles are not made strong by 
 daily exercise the summit will never be reached. Upon 
 that summit Wisdom hath builded her house and hewn 
 out its seven pillars ; and the highroad of Knowledge 
 which leads to it is straight. There are no short cuts. 
 He who seeks them, but finds that he has wandered 
 
44 Inaugural Address. 
 
 from the way. Those who wander return at best with 
 great difficulty. The most are lost. It shall be my pur- 
 pose, therefore, while holding all branches of learning 
 in honor, to specially foster and encourage devotion to 
 those which the matured experience of centuries have 
 approved as of value for the training and development of 
 the human mind, together with such of the more re- 
 cently developed departments of learning, whether sci- 
 entific or philosophical, as have proved of special value 
 either as discipline or as introducing the mind to wide 
 and lofty fields of thought. The merely useful, the 
 pleasant, but easily acquired, the purely ornate, branches 
 seem to me out of place in an institution such as this 
 is at present. 
 
 In these halls so long as I continue to preside over 
 them there shall be no narrow or illiberal spirit con- 
 sciously fostered. In the words of another u we do not 
 mean to extinguish the torch of science that we may sit 
 in religious moonlight, and we do not intend to send 
 our religion up to the biological laboratory for examina- 
 tion and approval. We shall not be afraid to open our 
 eyes in the presence of Nature, nor ashamed to close 
 them in the presence of God. " 
 
 And now, Gentlemen, the task which I proposed 
 for myself is completed. I have endeavored to state 
 briefly the general view which I hold of such a position 
 as that to which you have called me. I shall -not seek 
 to press too far or too fast to the goal. If Miami is to 
 remain a small college I only hope that she will be 
 among the best of small colleges, doing well all that she 
 does. If her destiny is a higher one, if she shall stretch 
 forward to the position which her old-world sisters have 
 won, climbing each step with firm tread, then God 
 speed her on her way. Let her future be what it may, 
 
Inaugural Address. 45 
 
 I trust every man connected- with her will do manfully 
 his duty. The event is with Him "who doeth accord- 
 ing to His pleasure in the army of heaven and among 
 the inhabitants of the earth. " For my part I have re- 
 ceived at your hand the keys of these halls, and have 
 registered a solemn oath to be faithful to the trust com- 
 mitted to my charge. May God give me strength to 
 keep that oath, and do you pray His blessing upon this 
 ancient institution, that it may renew its youth, and send 
 forth many sons as worthy as those of old, who shall serve 
 as faithfully their country and their God. 
 
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